walk with jesus

Thinking over a spiritual exercise I participated in recently with some fellow ministry leaders, I was reminded of an experience I had shortly before I graduated from college. I was asked out on a date by someone who attended my church.

Dating at college back then was something considered almost obligatory for guys who attended there, and usually involved inviting a girl to attend bible study or to attend worship services followed by lunch at the dining hall.

This particular date involved attending church services at the auditorium and as my date took my arm, I found myself in the position of leading him around for most of the morning. This wasn’t because he didn’t know what he was doing or where he wanted to go. It was because he couldn’t see. He was blind.

It was a beautiful day as I recall, so I made some effort to describe the beauty of the campus as we walked along. I led him, not by pushing him from behind nor by walking out in front of him, but by walking with him, alongside him, telling him moment by moment what he needed to know to safely transverse the walkway and the stairs, and to avoid falling in the reflection pool.

This is a good picture of what it means to walk with Jesus and to be led by the Holy Spirit.

In the story Luke tells of the two travelers walking along the road toward Emmaeus, we see that Jesus joined the group and was walking with them long before they were aware of his presence. When they did realize he was there, they didn’t recognize who he was. In fact, he chided them for their slowness of heart and lack of belief in who he was as their Messiah and Lord. Though their hearts knew who Jesus was, they did not recognize him in their external experience.

Later they invited him to abide with them, to stay with them where they were staying. He agreed, and joined with them in a meal. Interestingly, he took on the role of host and led the breaking of bread. It was in this act that the travelers’ eyes were opened and they saw Jesus for whom he really was.

In many ways this is what our walk with Jesus is like—Jesus walks with us as we go through life, whether we are aware of it or not. As we go down the road of life, there comes a time when we realize that we are not alone, but have a companion with us on the road.

As we hear and begin to understand the Word of life, the truth about who Jesus is as the God-man, both Lord and Savior, we begin to believe and to be immersed in him. We are baptized with his Spirit, experiencing in a real way a new vision, a new existence in him. We invite him to be our constant companion, to abide with us and in us, and he shares the communion of his real divine presence with us. He is revealed to us and we find continual renewal in the breaking of bread in an ongoing way—in the sharing of his divine life through the Eucharist.

Walking along the road of our daily existence, we can experience and know the real presence of Jesus in us and with us by the Holy Spirit. As we walk with Jesus, not ahead of him or behind him but alongside him, we hear the Spirit of Christ directing us, telling us our next steps, warning us of dangers, and describing to us the beauty of the spiritual realities we currently cannot physically see or experience in their fullness.

This divine companionship is a gift from the One who loves us with an everlasting love and does not want to be God without us. He has declared that we are his and he has determined live with us and in us forever. We do not travel this road of life alone. God as Father, Son and Spirit is in us, with us, for us. He is our Holy Companion and he offers us safe travel, warm fellowship and divine community forever.

Truly it is in you God that we find our only real companionship, friendship, and community. You are the One who is always present, whether we realize it or not, and who never ceases to love us and accept us. We need never fear or feel alone, for you are with us, in us and for us—committed to us forever. Thank you for this precious gift in Jesus. Amen.

“While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.” Luke 24:15-16“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Romans 8:14

Have you ever experienced the transience of an inheritance? I spoke one time to a lady who had worked all her life to save up a pension and to set aside money for her retirement. All of that money was slated to be given to her children upon her death. It was to be a substantial inheritance for them.

However, due to an unexpected and unfortunate set of circumstances, the lady ended up needing long-term care. As she was receiving her care, she ended up in the hospital for an extended length of time. Within six months, every penny of her children’s inheritance was gone and she was left living on Social Security. She could not believe that all those years of doing without to save those funds ended with nothing to show for it. She was devastated.

But this is the nature of human inheritances. They are transient and easily fade away. A simple fluctuation in the economy can eliminate thousands of dollars in value. To many people, it is a tragedy beyond belief. Or is it?

In reality the greater tragedy is to place one’s dependency there rather than on an eternal inheritance that cannot fade away. God has an inheritance waiting for you and me—a living hope—who is Jesus Christ, our living Savior who rose from the dead in triumph over self, sin and Satan, and death. This inheritance cannot be stolen or spoiled.

We need to invest daily in our eternal inheritance by growing in our relationship with God in Christ through the Holy Spirit. For this is eternal life, to know God and to be known by him. Our daily walk with Jesus, our care and concern for one another shown by good deeds are ways of investing in our eternal inheritance. We cannot earn this inheritance because it is a gift in Christ from God to his children. But we can invest in it.

Jesus said not to worry so much about the physical but to invest in the eternal instead. Our inheritance will never fade because it is secure in Christ as we trust in him. One day we will share eternal glory with all our brothers and sisters in Christ forever. For this we give God thanks and praise each moment of our lives.

Lord, thank you for the many blessings you give us in this life. Help us, though, to set our hearts and minds on what is eternal and will last forever rather than on things that are transient and can fade away. Help us to make choices with eternity in mind—to do good and share with others, and to invest in our relationships with you and with others. Thank you for this living hope and inheritance that will not fade away which you have freely given us in Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” –1 Peter 1:1-3